Spine-protector.



A.l SEIBERT.

SPINE PROTECTOR.

APPLICATION man FEB. 7. 1918.

1,267,598. Patented May 28,;1918'.

AUGUST SEIBERT, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

STEINE-PROTECTOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

, Application led February 7, 191,8. Serial No. 215,785.

To all whom z't may conce/m.'

Be it known that I, AUGUST Snrnirr, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented acertain new and useful Spine-Protector, of which the following is aspecification.

Under modern modes of dress of the human body the spinal cord is exposedto cold and as the principal nerves which supply the extremities of thebody center in the spinal cord any exposure o-f the latter or failure tomaintain suiiicient warmth at this vital center materially aifects thecirculation throughout the whole body. The bony processes of the spinalcolumn are interspersed by thin loose tissue covered by skin alone,which affords no protection against the loss of body heat at this mostvital part. The muscles of the back adjacent the spinal column formridges on each side, causing the spinal column to lie in a grooveextending from a point between the shoulder blades downwardly, and themore the back muscles are developed the deeper this groove becomes.Theclothes generally worn upon the human body cover the spinal columnbut they do not ordinarily touch or press against it unless it be whilethe back is pressed against the back of a seat when the person issitting down. In the act of rising from a seat and during many of theordinary movements of the body `cold air is drawn into the space betweenthe clothing and the spinal column, causing a loss of body heat at thenerve center, and this is one of the principal causes of chills.

The obJect of my invention is to provide a device adapted to be worn onthe human body, which will press into the back groove and eitherdirectly touch the surface of the spinal column or `else press theundershirt into contact therewith. The purpose of this is to keep theprotector or shirt pressed against the surface at the spinal column soas to iill up the groove of the back or prevent cold air from beingsucked or drawn in across the spinal column. I have found that where thepresent protector is made as a detachable article to be worn over theundershirt the body temperature may be kept high .during extremely ycoldweather and with much lighter clothing than what would be required ifthe present device were not used. The effect of wearing the protector isto not only keep up the body temperature at the spinal column but tokeep the body warm throughout by its action on the `blood circulation atthe nerve center.

One object of my invention is to pro-vide a device for the above statedpurposes, which will be convenient to wear, which will be inexpensiveand washable and lin the fullest embodiment of my invention, a devicewhich may be readily applied or removed as weather conditions vary.

Inthe drawing forming part of this application- Figure 1 shows a backview of `a person wearing the protector between the outer and undershirt and showing how the Suspenders may serve to press the protectoragainst the back,

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the protector removed,

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing the construction of the spinal columnand the manner in which the protector fills the back groove.

The protector is preferably made as a detachable device though in thebroadest aspect of my invention it may be incorporated as part of agarment, for instance, as part of the undershiru though there are manyadvantages in making the article independent of any garment. The form orshape may be varied to a greatextent but the principal feature is theprovision of a protruding portion adapted to iit into the back groove soas to lie close to or press against the spinal column.

In the drawing I have shown a base or foundation consisting of a kstripof fabric l. This is of sufficient length to reach from a point near theshoulders, preferably from the collar band of the undershirt down to theend of the spina-l column of the average male person, but the length maybe varied to suit the particular requirements of persons above or belowthe average height. The foundation l is shown as having a soft uppersection 2 above. the protruding f member,

Patented May 28, 1918.

which may be fastened to the undershirt as by means of the safety pins3. l-elouv the sect-ion the ybase is n ade narrower at l in order to liein the narrower space between the shoulder blades; as it is preferablethat the base should not extend over the shoulderI blades in order thatit shall not interfere With their freedom of movement and in order thatthe. device may be retained in proper position. From the narrowerportion e the base gradually broadens out to the Widest port-ion 5 Whichcomes about on a line with the abdomen. From the Widest portion 5 thebase gradually tapers at 6 to a somewhat pointed end 7.

lt the corners on the Widest portion 5 1 have attached tapes S Which areadapted to be brought around the abdomen and their ends may be tied atthe front, as shown dotted at 9 in Fig. Vl. Thesetapes serve to hold thebase snugly against the back.

rEhe entire'base may consist of one or more pieces of fabric and lprefer to finish the entire edge With a hem 10.

The protruding` member for filling up the back groove may be made invarious Ways but the one shown herein is very inexpensive and ellicient.There is a strip of fabric l1 attached by the double row of stitches 1Q,13 along the middle portion of the base 1 and from the point lll justbelouT the top member 2 down to the point 15. This strip is preferablyfolded upon itself to provide the proper structure and this foldingoperation may be accomplished simultaneously with they stitchingoperation7 upon serving inachines Which are now on the market. rllhestrip 11 may consist of an inner layer 16 having its edge unstitched,the strip being t turned back upon itself at 17, Where it is secured bythe line of stitches l2, and the turning back of the strip upon itselfforms a second layer 18, At 19 the fabric is turned in upon itself toform a third layer, 20, which lies between the 'first layer and thesecond layer, the looped edge 19 beingv secured by the line of stitches13. The strip 11 stands out from the base between the rows of stitchesand 1 arrange Within the space between the base and strip ay ller Q1composed of va number of strands of thread or cord arranged lengthwiseof the protector'. The particular kind of filler is not vital exceptthat it should be sufhciently pliable to be pressed into the backlgroove and to bend readily with the movements of the body.

When the device is Worn on the body the Suspenders may be utilized forkeeping the protector pressed against the back. As shown in Fig'. 1, theprotector may be Worn between the undershirt and outer shirt and thesuspender-across orer near the center of the protector.` Thus theSuspenders press upon considerable portion of theL protector column.

Leemans tection is the skin. When the present devicey is Worn upon theback, the base 1 lies yagainst the muscles of the back and theprotrusion formed by the strip'll and its liller extends into and llsthe groove over` the spinal 1f the protector is Worn kover theund'ershirt the latter is pressed by the protruding' memberdirectlyagainst the skin and the remainder'of the groove is lilled bythe protrusion of the protector. mien the person rises up from a seat orbends the body in walking, etc., cold air is not drawn in between theclothing and the body to vpass .along the spinal column but theshirt orthe protector is pressed at all times into Contact With the body alongthe back groove. By making the protector as a detachabledevice it'may bereadily carried in the pocket or in the soldiers pack and it can be Wornonly during such times as Weather conditions make it desirable. 1 hedevice is preferably made of Washable material so that it may be readilyWashed in its entirety.

Having described my invention. .What 1 claim is:

l. A device for the purpose described comprising a base or the likeadapted to be Worn upon the back of the human body and a protrudingmember extending length wise of the back and adapted to project into thegroove of the back for the purpose set forth.

2. A deyice for the'purpose set forth comprising a base or the like ofpliable material adapted to be rvcrn upon the back of the hui man bodyand a protruding member of pliable material extending lengthwise of theback and adapted to project into the groove of the back for the purposeset/forth.

i device tor the purpose set forth comprising ak base or the like ofpliable material adapted to be worn upon the back of the human body astrip of pliable material secured to said base tofornr a pocket betweenthe base and said strip extending along the line of the spinal columnand a filler in said pocket to form a protrusion adapted to eX- tendinto the back groove of the body when said base is Worn upon the back.

n device for the purpose set forthcomprising base consisting of acomparatively Wide top portion haring means for Lattach.-

ment to the undershirt above the center line said base extendinglengthwise thereof and of the shoulder blades, a narrower portionadapted to project into the groove of the below said wide portion, awider portion beback for the purpose set forth. A 10 low said lastmentioned portion, means at- Signed at the city, county, and State of 5tached to said latter wide portion adapted New York, this 29th day ofJanuary, 1918.

to encircle the body to hold said base against the back and meansforming a protrusion on AUGUST SEIBERT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressfngthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G."

